BigBand der Deutschen Oper Berlin

The BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its foundation and devoting itself to French jazz. This music became a symbol of freedom and the spirit of resistance during the German Occupation and subsequently became the soundtrack for Existentialism and the expression of the joie de vivre of an entire generation. Musicians including Miles Davis and Sidney Bechet encountered Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Boris Vian in the nightclubs of Saint-Germaindes- Prés. Juliette Gréco was the undisputed muse of the bohemian world and Paris became the place of yearning for many jazz musicians from the USA, far away from racial segregation and the McCarthy era.

The concert is celebrating the spirit of the eventful years and its music from the period when French jazz from during the war and the pre-war years became uniquely blended with the chanson and influences of bebop and modern jazz. The programme features compositions by the French jazz and film music legend Michel Legrand alongside pieces by Miles Davis who made several of his artistically significant recordings in France. Music by Jaques Brel and Serge Gainsbourg is juxtaposed with a number of works from the repertoire of the legendary Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band and texts by Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.